Milwaukee Titanic Victim Captain Edward Gifford Crosby
The Titanic sank into the depths of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15th, 1912. The tragedy claimed the lives of over 1,500 passengers. On the night of the April 14th, Edward Gifford Crosby, his wife Catherine, and their daughter Harriette were all asleep in their first class cabins aboard the ill-fated ship. They had boarded at Southampton and were returning home to Milwaukee where Crosby owned a shipping company and four Great Lakes steamers.
Catherine was awoken by a “thump” and roused Edward, who dressed and left the cabin to investigate.
When the seriousness of the situation became clear, Crosby quickly returned to the cabin. Seeing his wife still lying in bed, he said, “You will lie there and drown!”
He helped Catherine and Harriette get to safety in the first lifeboat that left the ship, and that was the last time they saw him alive.
Captain Crosby perished when the ship went under.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Crosby’s body was recovered by the MacKay Bennett and brought back to Milwaukee. His funeral was held aboard one of his Lake Michigan steamers. He was then cremated at Forest Home Cemetery and entombed within the gothic black granite walls of the Fairview Mausoleum.
When the mausoleum was condemned in 1996, the remains of the Crosby family were moved to Graceland Cemetery, where they can be found today.
Their gravestone is engraved with the words “Passengers on the Titanic,” an illustration of the ship, and the seal of the Titanic Historical Society.
Grave of Edward Gifford Crosby and family at Graceland Cemetery
